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Top Late-Night Activities Beyond Bars In Denver

May 30, 2013 6:00 AM

(credit: denverbikebar.com)

(credit: denverbikebar.com)

Go beyond the bar and try something new for your late-night entertainment. There are a lot of great activities all over Denver that you can enjoy instead of wasting yet another night at your local bar. Why not enjoy some comedy shows or check out a local burlesque show? Doesn’t that sound like a whole lot more fun than downing another vodka soda and losing another game of pool? So check out these great choices for your late-night entertainment. You’ll be glad you did.

On the last Saturday of every month, Text-a-Saurus hits the Bug Stage and it is unlike anything you’ve ever seen. Four comics, lead by funny man Deacon Gray, will take the stage for the first act with their own hilarious brand of stand-up comedy. The audience is then asked at intermission to text or tweet different suggestions to the comics. During the second act, the comics return to the stage to tackle the new suggestions – though they won’t know what the topics are until they get on stage. Text-a-Saurus is always a hilarious and fun time, and the Bug Theatre is a great place to end up for a late-night treat.

Add some local comedy into your late-night entertainment at Voodoo Comedy Playhouse. This hip local spot features tons of hilarious talent from all over the Denver area. And late-night shows at Voodoo are even more fun. Check out “Hit and Run: Musical Improv” where a team of musically talented actors create a full musical on the spot. Or check out “Missed Connections with Hot Nap” in which the audience selects a random Missed Connections post from Craigslist and Hot Nap (a group of truly talented comedians) improvise a story about that meeting. Or enjoy some of Voodoo’s great late night karaoke. No matter what you enjoy, there is something funny going on down at Voodoo.

Saturday nights a are popular time at Lannie’s. Every Saturday night, the stage lights up with the “Off the Clock Burlesque Show” filled with dancers, magic, music and more. Hosted by the hysterical Pierre Jean Pierre St. Pierre, the audience is taken on an adventure through the world of burlesque. Before every show there is live music and the show itself kicks off at 11:30 p.m. This is the perfect late-night entertainment for your birthday party, bachelor or bachelorette party, or even a romantic date. For something truly special, grab a VIP ticket that includes a tiara or fedora for each guest and someone may even get called up on stage.

If you are going to go bar-hopping at night, why not get a group together and do it in style? No, that doesn’t mean renting a limo and hanging out the sunroof, that means doing the bar crawl thing in a health-conscious way. The Denver Bike Bar is your answer. This 100 percent pedal-powered vehicle tours the LoDo area and make stops at several local bars. If you want to tour the city, go bar to bar or have a really fun bachelor/bachelorette party, then this is a great option. The Bike Bar is set up on pre-arranged outings of up to 16 people including 10 peddlers, five loungers and one group entertainer. The trip can be customized to go anywhere in the area for about a two-hour tour.

Also at the Bug Theatre, on the last Friday of every month, is the huge mega-hit comedy show, The Grawlix. Starting up at around 10:30 p.m., Grawlix is Denver’s premier comedy show that features both stand-up and sketch comedy from Ben Roy, Andre Orvedahl, Adam Cayton-Holland and other special guests. You may be familiar with this team from their hit web series on Funny or Die, or you may have also seen a few of these guys on Comedy Central or other late-night talk shows. This show is always a huge attraction, so you’ll want to show up early to get in line.

Deborah Flomberg is a theater professional, freelance writer and Denver native. Her work can be found at Examiner.com.